The Apprentice's Dillon St Paul had to be rushed to hospital and given surgery after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
The creative director, who appeared on the BBC1 show last autumn, has opened up about the pain and fear he felt after being told he had a glioma tumour lodged in his brain, just two weeks ago.
Dillon had to have the non-cancerous mass cut out after suffering a seizure at work. Writing on his blog, he revealed that before having the surgery, he thought being on The Apprentice was the hardest thing he'd ever had to face.
"But the hardest thing was obviously surviving the brain surgery – a journey of pain and sorrow unlike anything I've ever experienced," he revealed.
After being rushed to hospital, Dillon was "prodded, poked and injected until reduced to tears" so doctors could find out what was wrong with him. Luckily, the tumour was easily operable – something Dillon said didn't "have me s***ting rainbows" – and the surgery was successful.
However, the reality star said he wasn't prepared for the world of pain he experienced after waking up.
"During that first night I genuinely felt like I was dying," he wrote.
"This is too personal to go into now, but I cried a lot and pined for friends and family. I really pined for my friend Jessica from The Apprentice but she was in the CBB house in the UK at the time and I couldn't reach her properly. Life's a b***h."
Dillon revealed that recovering from the surgery was "interesting" as his brain had been changed as a result – he can now smell everything but can't stand coffee anymore, and he said old episodes of Absolutely Fabulous were "very calming" to watch.
"I thought The Apprentice was the hardest thing I'd ever done and now that seems ridiculous – it was just a TV show with some really mean people in a boardroom. Now I know life is too short, so be nice!" he finished.
